Albania is located in south-eastern Europe. The country borders in the north with Montenegro and Kosovo, in the east with Macedonia and in the south with Greece. theCoastal the Adriatic and the Ionian Sea form the natural western border, making the country one of the countries bordering the Mediterranean.

Albania owns on the Adriatic and the Ionian sea a long coastline with many sand and pebble beaches. Well-known vacation spots are Durrés, Vlora, Shêngjin and Velipoja on the Adriatic Sea and Dhêrmi, Himara and Saranda on the Ionian Sea. In the south is the Albanian coast only 71 kilometers from Italy. Untouched nature and varied landscapes characterize large regions in Albania. It is home to unique fauna and flora, which makes Albania one of the most biodiverse countries in Europe in terms of its size. With its interesting culture and Mediterranean climate, Albania offers the best conditions for various types of tourism. Important sights are the renovated Ebu Bekr Mosque in Shkodra and the Albanian Orthodox Cathedral in Pogradec.

Many visitors to Albania are amazed that there are 14 national parks in the country. There the natural occurrences of the flora and fauna of Albania are protected.
The largest of the Albanian national parks is the Prespa National Park. It is also one of the most popular in the country and has a large number of different animals and plants that are native to Albania.
Most of the tourists are also interested in the Thethi National Park. The park administration offers an extensive program for exploring the park.
There are also an enormous number of plant species in Albaniato find. In total, there are more than 3,200 plant species in the country. On the coast you can often see palm, orange and lemon trees. In the mountains there are mainly walnut and almond trees. In the south of Albania there are pine trees, linden trees, olive trees and some of the typical shrubs from Mediterranean areas.

Albania climate

The coast of Albania has a pleasant Mediterranean climate. Summer is the high season in Albania, locals from the hot interior of the country (temperatures are often between 30 and 40 ° C) now visit the somewhat cooler coastal regions. In Tirana and other inland cities, most of the precipitation falls in winter, but freezing temperatures are rare. At higher altitudes it often falls between November and Marchsnow.

Best travel time for Albania

The best time to travel to Albania is spring or autumn.

Albania – key data

Area: 28,748 km² (of which land: 27,398 km², water: 1,350 km²)

Population: 3.0 million (2011 estimate, CIA). Composition: Albanians 95%, Greeks 3%, others (Wallachians, Roma, Serbs, Macedonians, Bulgarians) 2%. (As of 1989) There are, however, various statements about the proportion of Greeks, the values ​​fluctuate between 1% and 12%.

Population density: 104 residents per km²

Population growth: 0.267% per year (2011, CIA)

Capital: Tirana (616,000 residents, 2008,Metropolitan area 895,000 residents)

Highest point: Maja e Korabit (Golem Korab) 2,764 m

Lowest point: Adriatic Sea, 0 m

Form of government: Albaniahas been a presidential republic since 1991, the new constitution dates from 1998. The unicameral parliament of Albania consists of 155 members, the legislative period is four years. Albania has been independent from the Ottoman Empire since November 28, 1912.

Administrative division: 12 districts (singular: Qark): Berat, Diber, Durres, Elbasan, Fier, Gjirokaster, Korce, Kukes, Lezhe, Shkoder, Tirane and Vlore.

Head of State: President Bujar Nishani, since July 24, 2012

Head of Government: Prime Minister Sali Berisha, since September 11, 2005

Language: the official language in Albania is Albanian. Greek is sometimes spoken in the southern region.

R eligion: 70% Muslim, 20% Albanian Orthodox, 10% Roman Catholic

Local time: CET. Between the last Sunday in March and the last Sunday in October there is summer time in Albania (CET + 1 hour).
The time difference to Central Europe in both winter and summer 0 h.

International phone code: +355

Internet identifier:.al

Mains voltage: 220 V, 50 Hz

Albania Geography

The one on the west coast of the Balkan Peninsula Albania bordered to the northwest by Montenegro, to the northeast by Kosovo, to the east by Macedonia and to the south by Greece. In the west, the Adriatic Sea forms the natural border. Albania covers almost 29,000 square kilometers and is a little smaller than Belgium with around 3 million residents. The geography of Albania is shaped by the three major landscapes mountains, hill country and coast, with the Mountain ranges alone make up 60% of the Albanian national territory.

Three impressive mountains define the northern, eastern and southern areas of High Albania. In the north, the North Albanian Alps with the 2,694 meter high Jezerca form the natural border with Montenegro and run in two other mountain ranges parallel to the coast. In the east joins the Korabi chain with the highest mountain of the same name in Albania (2,751 m) and the Epirus mountains in the south delimit Albania from Greece. With a mean height of about 700 meters above theSea levelAlbania is the highest country in Europe. Worth mentioning is the Tomorr massif in the east of the country, which is about 19 kilometers long and six kilometers wide and is a kind of Albanian sanctuary. The mountain range is called “baba Tomorr” (Papa Tomorr) by the Albanians as well as “the lion who guards the land” or “Olympus of Albania”. Visit thenailmythology.com for Albania – the secret gem of the Mediterranean.

The varied and diverse geological formations give Albania rich ore deposits with bitumen and chromium as well as crude oil. The silver deposits that existed in pre-Christian times were mainly mined by Greek settlers. The sometimes very inaccessible landscape and the often inadequate infrastructure, however, require significant financial resources to enable the mineral resources to be extracted. Since Albania – like the entire southern Balkans – lies on the border between the Eurasian and African tectonic plates, the country is often shaken by medium to strong earthquakes; Albania experienced the last major earthquake in 1979.

Albania has about 300 kilometers of coastline that stretches along the Adriatic from the border with Montenegro to the Ionian Sea. The coast on the Ionian Sea is rugged and narrow, behind it rise mountains up to 1,000 meters high. The Adriatic coast, on the other hand, consists of long sandy beaches that merge into agricultural plains. Since the rivers coming from the mountains flow into the sea along this coast, fertile alluvial land was created, which also offers ideal habitats for many bird species.

Albania’s wealth of rivers and lakes is so great that the entire amount of hydropower can hardly be used by the relatively small country alone. Many rivers, most of which have their source in the high mountains, cross the country and run through steep, narrow gorges and wide watercourses to their confluence with the Mediterranean Sea. Albania has a total of eleven main rivers and 152 tributaries, the most important of which are the Black and White Drin, the Devoll, Osum, Shkumbin and the Bistrica, Kalasa and Vjosa. The most important lakes in Eastern Europe can also be found in Albania: The Skadar Lake in the north is the largest lake in the Balkans, but due to its glacial origin it only measures 60 m at its deepest point. The large lakes in the east are of tectonic origin and therefore very deep.

Population distribution of Albania

The present map of the population distribution in Albania was created by the Worldmapper team. Densely populated areas appear bloated, the area of ​​sparsely populated areas is reduced. The shape of the grid has been preserved; an underlying map with the original geographic extent helps with the interpretation of the cartogram. The distorted map is intended to help present abstract statistical information clearly.